BC Hydro completes $20-million upgrade at a Coquitlam substation

BC Hydro Como Lake Substation Upgrade boosts grid reliability with a new transformer, 12 distribution feeders, protective switchgear, and circuit breakers, strengthening electrical infrastructure across British Columbia and supporting transmission and distribution investments.

BC Hydro has completed a $20 million upgrade to the Como Lake Substation in Coquitlam to help meet growing electricity demand. Demand in the Tri-Cities region is expected to grow by two per cent each year over the next 20 years.

Substations are an important part of the electrical system. They receive high voltage power from transmission lines, including projects such as the new transmission line now powering Vancouver, and transform that power to a lower voltage so it can be distributed to homes and businesses.

Work at the Como Lake Substation began in July 2013. BC Hydro installed:

- A new transformer, bringing the total number of transformers at the substation up to five, to support capacity in a grid hotspot that is set to expand further

- Equipment that will enable the addition of 12 distribution feeders

- New protective equipment, including switches and circuit breakers, where substation maintenance training is critical for safe operation, which connect high voltage electrical equipment inside the substation to the lower voltage switchgear – similar to an electrical panel in a home but much larger.

This upgrade is just one of hundreds of BC Hydro’s capital projects underway throughout B.C., such as the Lower Mainland transmission line completed recently, that, together, make up one of the largest expansions of electrical infrastructure in the province’s history.

BC Hydro will invest, on average, $2.4 billion a year over the next 10 years in the electricity system including upgrades to transmission and distribution systems, such as Site C transmission work now underway, and dams and generating stations.

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